“Until policy-makers stop attacking wages and take on the corporate profiteers there will be no end to this cost-of-living crisis.”
The latest inflation figures show that the annual inflation rate fell sharply to 6.8% in July, down from 7.9% in June, with the drop in energy prices being behind the fall.
While the figures have been met with much glee from the Tories, a number of trade unions have warned that working people are still struggling to make ends meet and still face difficult days ahead.
Experts have also warned that the economic outlook is not improving quickly enough to prevent further interest rate rises from the Bank of England, which will mean rises in rent and mortgage costs.
Unite the Union warned against ‘triumphant claims in some quarters that the cost of living crisis was coming to an end’, as the ‘truth is that inflation (RPI) is still outstripping wage growth’.
The union also added: “As people continue to be hammered by food and energy greedflation, they now face huge rises in rent and mortgage costs thanks to Bank of England interest rate rises.
“Meanwhile, corporations continue to profit. The big four banks have published combined profits of over £29 billion for the first six months of 2023, up 77% on last year.”
Unite General Secretary Sharon Graham said: “The government, the Bank of England, and profiteering corporations will try to use today’s inflation figures to tell people the crisis is over, but workers won’t be fooled while they see prices and profits continue to rise faster than wages.”
“Until policy-makers stop attacking wages and take on the corporate profiteers there will be no end to this cost-of-living crisis.”
Meanwhile the TUC also warned that the UK economy is ‘far from out of the woods’.
TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak said: “We all want to see lower inflation. But it will take more than price rises slowing for working people to feel better off – especially with food bills remaining sky high.
“Real wages are still worth less today than in 2008 after the longest pay squeeze in 200 years. And at the same time, unemployment and insecure work are shooting up.
“Our economy is far from out of the woods – too many long-run challenges remain unaddressed.
“We need a credible plan to deliver decent well-paid jobs across the country. The Conservatives have yet to produce one despite being in office for the past 13 years.”
Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward
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